Jumping ahead a bit... In this picture the basic fuselage is pretty complete. The primary flight controls are in, the plane is on it's gear, the cabane is finished and the tail surfaces are done. I decided to not try and make the the sidewall and belly formers according to the plans–I couldn't see how bending 3/8 tubing to shape and welding a million tabs onto it was going to result in smooth, flowing sheet metal panels. I had a local sheet metal shop bend some mild steel into 1x1 inch angles (with a 1/4 break on the edge the skin will lie against) and then with a set of crimping rollers curved it to fit patterns I had made from the plans. The result is most easily seen in the bottom photo. I also added a 1x 1/4 inch angle to the top longeron, running from firewall to tail post, to provide an attachment for the turtledeck and coaming.
Also visible in the lower photo is the torque tube assembly, and the push-pull tube. (More about those parts in the "controls" section. I've moved to a new shop, which isn't so cave-like and much nicer to work in.